“I think [Gianluca] Mancini will be back as early as next week. I hope Wesley will be as well – they’re both progressing positively. The injuries they suffered were less serious. As for [Paulo] Dybala, he’s doing pretty decently, but his situation is less predictable. I’d give him a week or two. The injuries that our players have had to deal with have definitely been detrimental from a certain point of the season onwards – I’d say from the end of December onwards – especially because they’ve been so long-lasting.
“It’s not because of the number of injuries, per se. I’m talking about, for example, what happened recently to Wesley when he was on international duty. These are injuries that are expected in a squad of players who play so many games for so many months – missing one or two weeks, not months, is normal in football. We’ve had some long-term injuries, starting with [Evan] Ferguson, [Leon] Bailey, [Artem] Dovbyk and then Dybala and [Matias] Soule. I’m struggling to remember them all, but there have definitely been at least six or seven, over many months.
“This has been a really difficult season in this regard. We haven’t had all that many muscular problems – some, yes, recently with [Mario] Hermoso – but there have been lots of unusual circumstances Of course, there have been some niggles. Some players have had to miss the odd game, like Mancini recently. There have been players who had a similar situation to Mancini – I’m talking about broken noses, playing with masks and others with general aches and pains. We’ve certainly had a slump, due in part to this ongoing injury crisis, which we suffered before in attack because we had so many out of action. We lost Ferguson, Dovbyk, Dybala and Soule. Tommaso Baldanzi left, so he was no longer an option for us, and our defence suffered too.”
Those were the injury updates provided by Gian Piero Gasperini ahead of Friday’s match against Pisa at the Olimpico. With that news, Gasperini will have to deal without three regular starters for this match. Gasperini was asked why players like Ghilardi, Vaz, El Aynaoui, and Zaragoza haven’t played more.
“If you also see players as I do, I make choices. Obviously I pick Mancini but Ghilardi has played a lot. Vaz has played more here than at Marseille. There’s nothing lacking – everyone in this team has played and is getting game time.
“If you want Vaz to play instead of [Donyell] Malen, if you want Ghilardi to play instead of, I don’t know, Ndicka, then sure, you’ve got a team, a team that can play consistently. There are players who are playing, who are coming into the fold who I think have also improved, including the ones you’re talking about. If that’s not enough for them, then I don’t know what to say,” he responded.
Gasperini was also asked about the possibility of El Aynaoui starting.
“He hasn’t played much lately – not since the Africa Cup of Nations. I think he’s had some difficulties – he was carrying something. However, he’s a fit guy, as I’ve said many times. During a spell before the Africa Cup of Nations he was doing very well and was playing with great consistency. As of late, in the games he’s come on as a sub or has started he’s not done as well as he did in the past. That being said, he’s in good shape, so I’m confident he can still do well.”
And it doesn’t look like players like El Aynaoui, Vaz, or Zaragoza will get a start. Instead, the absences of Mancini, Koné, and Wesley will open up spots for Ghilardi, Pisilli, and Rensch. Ghilardi joins Ndicka and Hermoso in the back three. Meanwhile, it looks like Pisilli will partner Cristante and Rensch will play opposite Çelik. In attack, Malen will be supported by Soulè and Pellegrini.
ROMA (3-4-2-1): Svilar; Ghilardi, Ndicka, Hermoso; Çelik, Cristante, Pisilli, Rensch; Soulè, Pellegrini; Malen.
